Crown Asia readies for plastic demand

Bulacan-based plastic compound and pipe manufacturer Crown Asia Chemicals Corp. has expanded its plastic compounding capacity by around 10 percent in anticipation of stronger demand from the domestic market.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, Crown Asia said it had acquired a new state-of-the-art polyvinyl chloride (PVC) compounding line from Germany.

The new facility has the capability of producing a wide range of PVC compounds for various applications, most notable of which are clear rigid compounds used in bottles, tube packaging, shrink films and labels.

The new compounding line will add another 1,500 metric tons per year (MTPY) to Crown Asia’s existing compounding capacity of 15,000 MTPY, the disclosure said.

This specialized application constitutes only 14 percent of Crown Asia’s compounds division revenue, with 86 percent of production capacity dedicated to the production of PVC compounds for wires and cables for export and local markets.

“By enhancing our production capacity in these new product applications, we are looking at growing our local customer base, which is expected to translate into a notable boost in our top line sales revenues,” Crown Asia president Eugene Lee Villanueva said in a press statement.

The new compounding line was funded by public offering proceeds from the company’s stock market debut in April last year.